Hawaii Vacation: Top 5 Things I'm Most Excited For...

5. Beaches 

This will be my first trip to Hawaii, so I'm obviously so excited for the amazing beaches in Kauai. Our house is just a quick walk away from a gorgeous beach, so I'm excited to see the beautiful water.

4. Ahi Tuna Sushi and Sashimi 

I am a huge fan of sushi, especially tuna. There's no better place to get good Ahi Tuna than Hawaii. I will be eating a lot of it. 

3. Hawaiian Shaved Ice 

Remember when you were a kid and you would get a snowcone and the flavoring would just drop to the bottom of the cone because the ice was so chunky? Me too. Well, Hawaiian snowcones are soft like snow and covered in cream. Amazing!

I've always heard really great things about the shaved ice. I'm excited.

2. Roy's

One of my favorite restaurants in California. It's gotta be even better in Hawaii.

1. Golf

My father-in-law and I are playing Makai in Princeville and Kauai Lagoons. Not just one, but TWO days of golf! I'm so lucky. 

Holeman and Finch Public House

The BrainStorm team was in Atlanta for a Microsoft conference this week. While there, we took some time to enjoy the local cuisine. One night we ventured over to Holeman and Finch for their famous cheeseburger. 

To begin the evening we did a celebratory group pound. Always awesome.

Grimsman looking fierce. 

Ready for a cheeseburger battle. 

Casey ordered a hotdog as an appetizer: perfectly grilled dog, homemade fluffy bread, pickled onions and jalapenos, and homemade mustard. 
"That was the best hot dog I've ever had." -Casey
Agreed, old friend. Agreed. 

I ordered the Polish with babycarrots. Delish.

Second course: Dave and I shared a delicious sandwich with Black Forrest Ham and Gruyere. It came with a creamy horseradish sauce on the side.

This dish was legendary. 

Housemade pasta with panchetta and parmesan. Shad and Casey shared this one, but they gave me a bite and it was legitimate. 

Soft pretzel for Casey and Shad

The main event: The Double Cheeseburger. This is why we came. Holeman and Finch only makes 24 of these a day. The reason: because.

We got there a whole 2 hours early just to ensure that we would have a shot. We were actually awkwardly early and ended up waiting a lot longer than we needed to, but we were committed and excited.  

When the burger finally arrived the waiter wouldn't even let us put sauce on it. "It doesn't need sauce, guys. Don't ruin the burger with sauce." The sauce was homemade ketchup and mustard, which would have made a boot taste awesome.

Homemade bun, homemade ketchup, homemade mustard, homemade pickles, homemade fries. This place does it all. This is how it's done, son!

He was right, it didn't need sauce.

And to close, caramel and bacon popcorn. Heavenly stuff.

Whenever I feel like eating really unhealthy I think of this...

It's called Poutine: it's fries, covered in cheese, covered in gravy. It's Canadian, it's unhealthy, and frankly it sounds really yucky. 

Mazza: Middle Eastern Cuisine

I have officially fallen in love with slowly cooked meats in deliciously spicy sauces. Put it all over rice with some sort of carbohydrate for dipping, and I'm in heaven. I know, I know, real healthy, right? Well, if it was healthy and boring I wouldn't be blogging about it...

A few weeks ago we decided to check out Mazza in Salt Lake. I have a friend (Jeff Bradford) who used to live close by and has great taste in food; he recommended that we go check it out, so we did. I'd never really had Middle Eastern food before so I didn't quite know what to expect. I thought, "This is going to taste like Indian food."

I was close: rice, slow-cooked meats, breads, awesome, it was all there. I loved it. We ordered Baba Ganoush for our appetizer, which is basically mashed eggplant mixed with seasonings. We ate it with fresh pita bread. Great start.

For my main course I ordered Mazza's Chicken and Potatoes Mutabbak: "A wonderfully rich oven baked dish made of seasoned layers of chicken breasts, potatoes and sweet golden onion slices baked in a tangy and sweet tamarind sauce and served over basmati rice."  THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT THE MENU SAYS, how could I not order that? It was one of the best chicken dishes I've ever had. Loved it.

One thing that really appealed to me was the decor. I'm usually not too worried about how a restaurant looks, but Mazza is pretty fancy. Well, I'm converted. Go check it out. Not for the decor, but for the delicious food.

http://www.mazzacafe.com/

912 East 900 South, Salt Lake City

Survey: Mayo or Miracle Whip?

It is an age-old battle of good versus evil. One is amazing and the other is disgusting.

Which do you prefer?

Zupas, less is more.

I'm tired of all of this up-selling at Zupas. All the way down the line they are trying to convince you to order more items. If you order soup, they want you to put something in it. If you order a salad, they want you to get a sandwich with it. Sometimes they even ask you if you're sure after you've already said no.

Today a lady asked me, "Would you like to try one of our delicious brownies for dessert?" And I politely said, "No thanks, I'm okay." And then she actually asked me, "Now, are you sure?" 

Listen Zupas, I'm guessing most people know exactly what they want to order when they come. We don't need your help. And no, we don't want any of your stupid brownies. Well, some people probably do. But most of us don't. That's why we're eating soup.

Mountain West Burrito

There's a new burrito place in town and it's named after an athletic conference. 

And it's in a gas station... 

Mountain West Burrito is showing that it doesn't matter where you set up shop, so long as you bring the flavor and the freshness.

Every time I've driven by this place it is packed with people and none of them are getting gas.
It seems like fresh ingredients and simple preparation has won again. You've got to try this place!

1796 North 950 West Provo, UT 84604 - (801) 805-1870
Open Mon-Sat 10am-9pm